Monday, October 31, 2011

The "China Army" invited a group of 260 foreign military attaché to observe an armor brigade assault yesterday (Oct 30th)(here) as part of a greater Vanguard 2011 military exercise.

If the goal of this open-house is to show case the new and transparent military, it is not working -- judging from those photos, the foreign military attachés seem to be paying more attention to those tasty pork buns than the dog-and-pony show on the battlefield.

BEIJING, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- Starting from the fall semester 2011, China will fund tuition for college students who suspend their studies to serve compulsory military service, in a bid to encourage them to serve in the army.

According to an official document issued recently by finance and education ministries and General Staff Headquarters of People's Liberation Army, China will fund each college student tuition of up to 6,000 yuan (around 948 U.S. dollars) for each academic year.

The document said the policy initiative will help improve military recruits' quality and boost the national defense and PLA's modernization drive.

The fresh move came after China in 2009 started to reimburse new college graduates serving military service the tuition they had paid for college study.

China will start the winter session of nationwide recruitment of soldiers from Nov. 1.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Wednesday welcomed a proposal by Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou to consider a peace treaty with its long-time rival, but warned Taiwan's China-skeptical opposition not to whip the matter up to make political capital.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since 1949 when the Nationalists retreated to the island after losing control of the mainland to the communists in the civil war.

China has never renounced the use of force to regain control of Taiwan, though Taiwan unilaterally announced the end of hostilities in 1991.

"Ending the state of hostility between the two sides and reaching a peace agreement accords with the overall interests of the Chinese nation and is the common wish of compatriots on both sides of the Strait," Yang Yi, spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, told reporters.

"This is a position we have upheld for many years and is the natural outcome of the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations."

"Chinese nation" is a term used by China that refers to the people who live on both sides of the Taiwan Strait in line with its "one China" policy.

Ma set off a controversy last week when he suggested a peace treaty with China could be signed in 10 years, drawing expressions of disquiet from his own party and charges from the opposition that he was jeopardizing Taiwan's security.

Following the criticism, he later said that any deal would be preceded by a referendum to gauge public opinion, a comment that risked upsetting Beijing, for whom referendums in Taiwan on political matters are anathema.

After Ma's comments, the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) submitted a parliamentary proposal to change the island's referendum law to require all political talks with China to be submitted to a referendum.

However the ruling Nationalists, with their big majority in the parliament's procedural committee, voted against adding the proposal to the parliament agenda, effectively blocking it.

China spokesman Yang said all "important matters" which involved relations between the two sides should "consider the wishes" of both peoples. But he implied the DPP was playing games.

"Political consultations are something ... for the future when conditions are right, and no political force ought to be allowed to use this as an opportunity to whip things up and seek political gain," he added.

China has stepped up is rhetoric against the DPP in the past few weeks, despite the DPP's softening of its pro-independence stance which has angered Beijing in the past.

Ma is facing a tight battle for re-election in January presidential polls and is campaigning on the success of his policy of engaging China economically, which he says has kept the peace between the one-time Cold War foes.

The opposition says the policy is allowing China too much influence over Taiwan and is a first step toward reunification.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Eww, as if. Eww, the PLA is like.... so yesterday, you know.

Since both "parties" of the Xinhai Revolution are now celebrating the centennial founding of the Republic (separately of course). There is no need for the PLA to "liberate" anyone anymore -- might as well drop the "People's Liberation" prefix all together.

From today's CCTV, the PLAN is now the China Navy

Previous Blog Entry: Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Where is the "People" in the "People's Liquidation Army "?

Without fanfare, China's People's Liquidation Army (PLA) quietly dropped the "People" off its name.

Does this mean that the PLA is no longer interested in the Communist ideal and is now focusing only on protecting/liquidating the Chinese wealth?

Likewise, the PLAN Special force is now The Special Force of China Navy.

PLAAF is now China Airforce

PLA Army Aviation is now China Army Aviation.

The PLAN is now China Navy

Old banner from the 2007 visit to Singapore. Note the PLA(N) is spelled out back then

From MOD's own website, PLAN is now "CN". Ships will all be CNS "name"

While docking here, this ocean-going training vessel with 411 crew members will be open for the public on Nov. 11 and 12. Its staff will hold volleyball and push-and-pull matches with the Thai navy troops based at Bangkok, said Captain of the ship Fan Kuiju.

On the reception ceremony, Thai officials welcomed all the crew on Zhenghe and said the visit will definitely deepening the understanding between the people of China and Thailand.

CNS Zhenghe was put into service in 1987 and had visited the United States, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Russia.

Chinese navy ship (CNS) Zhenghe arrives at the Bangkok Port, Thailand, Nov. 10, 2008. CNS Zhenghe entered the Bangkok Port on Monday morning starting its four-day official visit to the Thai capital. CNS Zhenghe was put into service in 1987 and had visited the United States, Thailand, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Russia. (Xinhua Photo)

RAWALPINDIi, Oct 27 (APP): Pakistan, China Joint Military Exercise YOUYI-IV is scheduled to be held in mid November in Pakistan.The joint exercise, spread over a period of two weeks, is aimed at mutual exchange of experience and information through a comprehensive training programme in real time.Exercise will encompass techniques and procedures involved in Low Intensity Conflict Operations (LIC) environment. This joint interaction in form of military exercise aims at sharing and enhancing expertise of both the armies in countering terrorism, says a press release issued by ISPR here on Thursday.

Exercise YOUYI which literally translates “Friendship” between two countries started in 2004. Pakistan Army was the first foreign army to conduct any exercise on Chinese soil.

So far three exercises have been conducted; including two in China and one in Pakistan.

These exercises were mandated to boost existing professional relationship between the two friendly Armies.

It may be mentioned here that Pakistan and China enjoy extremely close and brotherly relations since their inception, which have matured and strengthened over the years.
The forthcoming Joint Military Exercise YOUYI-IV will certainly pave the way for further cementing the existing bilateral relations between Pakistan and China.